SFU’s Graphic Requirements

With a growing community, and expanding opportunities for strengthening our individual messages and our over all brand, it is now more important than ever to establish clear requirements for communications materials.

Graphic Requirements provide a system visually to connect messages and communications opportunities with SFU’s new brand focus. The Graphic requirements manual covers the rules for foundational elements, such as stationery for business communication, with recommendations for broader use in creative communications. Requirements for web applications address issues related to top-level navigation and page structure.

A crucial standard is the new SFU wordmark, to be used for all but definitively formal communications and documents.

For official materials related to the President’s office and web site, communications from the Chancellor, and on degrees and certificates etc., the SFU coat of arms continues to be the standard. For all but them, the new logo and wordmark are the rule.

Ultimately our Graphic Requirements manuals, both static and online, make for a better audience experience: a more readable brochure, a more navigable web site, a more effective ad. They also remove barriers created by differing, often conflicting, requirements of experience in our communications.

Board of Governors Policy

Last November, the Board of Governors approved a motion to adopt the new requirements. It reads:

‘That the Board of Governors of Simon Fraser University approve the wordmark and brand developed by Karo Design as the University standard and that all University communications must meet the requirements of the Simon Fraser University Graphic Standards manual.’

WORKING with the REQUIREMENTS

• For branding of print products, and for branding of SFU Bookstore products and SFU Athletics kit: Work with Carol Knight and the Design Group: cknight@sfu.ca. That should speed up verification by Carol that your final product does meet the requirements.
  
• For web sites and web pages: All new sites/designs must be run before launch past Steve Ray of Public Affairs and Media Relations: seray@sfu.ca. This will ensure that your final product does meet the branding requirements.
  
• If you have questions about usage and styles that are not answered in the web and print volumes of the Requirements manuals, or in this document, please consult the director of Public Affairs and Media Relations, Scott McLean, at srmclean@sfu.ca.
  
• SFU Document Solutions (www.sfu.ca/docsol) has the latest formats—and a helpful online ordering system—for business cards, stationery and more. You can find out more under SFU Document Solutions below.
  
• Microsoft Word templates for letterhead, memo, fax and note-to-file documents can be downloaded from http://www.sfu.ca/clf. So can SFU's official fonts, logos, Dreamweaver web templates and PowerPoint presentation templates.
  
• Staples has the official template for SFU lapel badges (name badges/ID badges) and is an approved supplier. (Contact Helen Mazocchio at helen.mazzocchio@cexp.ca.)
  
• However, units at SFU may need or wish on occasion to produce their own ID badges. The design of any such badge must be approved in advance by the SFU Design Group. (Contact Carol Knight at cknight@sfu.ca.)
  
• The university also has available a team of branding leaders who can visit your department to brief staff and faculty on the latest practices and policies on branding, websites, brochures, stationery and more. To find out more, e-mail Scott McLean of Public Affairs and Media Relations: srmclean@sfu.ca
  
• SFU's logo, wordmark and coats of arms are protected by copyright and may not be used without written permission of the university. Copyright questions can be directed to SFU's director of Public Affairs and Media Relations, Scott McLean, at srmclean@sfu.ca
  

This and future editions of the Graphic Requirements manual serve to address major issues of design applications. But they cannot possibly address every design situation that may arise. Please refer back to this web site for updates. You may also wish to join one or both of the following mailing lists:

For web site and online design matters - To subscribe email maillist@sfu.ca - subject "subscribe sfu-webmasters"

For stationery, publications and advertising matters. To subscribe email maillist@sfu.ca - subject "subscribe sfu-graphicstandards"